Kimi Antonelli claimed his sixth F1 win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps in his Mercedes and stretched his championship lead to 45 points. The teenager beat Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, sending a clear message in the title race.
Antonelli had already shown his dominance in qualifying, taking pole by 0.317s – the biggest margin of the season so far. He made the decisive move on Leclerc on lap 34 and never looked back.
The race took a dramatic turn on the very first lap when title rival George Russell retired after a collision with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 5. Hamilton was handed a five-second penalty for the incident. Russell radioed in: “What happened with the battery? That’s not acceptable.”
Behind the podium, Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished 4th and 5tnh, while world champion Lando Norris was 7th. Nico Hülkenberg again missed out on points in 13th for Audi, while teammate Gabriel Bortoleto took 8th.
Verstappen tried to move up with a slipstream assist from teammate Isack Hadjar, briefly passing Antonelli through Eau Rouge but then lost speed without the tow and dropped back. The pit stop phase also worked in Antonelli’s favour: Ferrari kept Leclerc out longer, only pitting under the VSC. Leclerc rejoined ahead of Antonelli, but the young Italian charged forward unstoppably in the closing laps.
After 10 of 22 rounds, Antonelli leads the championship with 204 points, Hamilton second on 159. A historic title triumph for the Mercedes prodigy is edging ever closer.
